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Along with a fresh start to a new year, a new face appears in the governor’s office. Previous Governor Chris Christie left behind his legacy on January 16, and Phil Murphy arrived in office. Murphy’s victory swept up the support of about 55% of New Jersey votes with Republican Kim Guadagno as the runner up with about 42% of the votes. The Harvard graduate is a father of four children with his wife, Tammy. Now Governor Murphy plans to bring in new changes to fix what our previous governor has broken, shifting New Jersey towards the more Democratic side of politics and has ideals to restore our state’s stability. Murphy was left with many issues to face in order to successfully restore the state.

New Jersey is facing issues such as poor transit management, an economy falling into shambles, and extremely high property taxes. Some ways to make living in New Jersey more affordable would be to lower property tax burdens and provide more funding for our schools, while provide more support for the lower income residents. Another way to keep the costs of living in New Jersey lower would be to defend Net Neutrality and keep the internet accessible for everyone, rather than having to pay for it. Hopefully Governor Murphy will also be able to encourage New Jersey towns to share services and support each other. If all goes according to plan, in time, residents will be able to live far more comfortably without financial issues hanging over their heads.

He plans not only to improve our currently poor economy, but he is also pushing to combat violence, the opioid addiction epidemic, and to remove standardized testing as a graduation requirement (students may be saying goodbye to PARCC testing). Besides adding and adjusting laws, Governor Murphy plans to hold rallies to raise awareness for the issues to unite New Jersey residents. With enough support from citizens, those concerns will disappear quickly. Not only does he have the intention of fixing our many current crippling problems, but he also promises to continue the battle for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, to protect immigrant rights, and to work to improve conditions for people with disabilities. Some of the policies Murphy hopes to embed into the state to benefit these groups are to allow transgenders to select their gender on birth and death certificates, and to increase the access of professional licenses to undocumented residents.

Although the governor’s term has just begun, there are high hopes for changes within our state’s government. New Jersey is in desperate need of fresh modifications to its leadership and the laws that follow it. The last governor left the state in disarray with upset residents and a withering economy. But Phil Murphy is a man with strong ambitions and may be the answer to the unfortunate affairs with which New Jersey and its residents are burdened.